Shoe and process of making the same



July 15; 1941'. w. M.' SCHLEAR SHOE AND PROCESS OF MAKING THE SAME Filed June 28, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. M. 5 chlear William I ATTORNEYS' July 15, 1941,. w. M. SCHLEAR SHOE AND PROCESS OF MAKING [THE SAME Filed June 28, 1958 F IG. 6.

' 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 William M'. 512.111 E av ATTORNEYS.

Patented July is, 1941 SHOE AND PROCESS OF MAKING THE SAME William M. Schlear, Orwigsburg, Pa., assignol; by mesne assignments, to Henry G. Lumbard,

Auburn, Maine Application June 28, 1938, Serial No. 216,327

8 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in shoes and the manufacture thereof.

The primary object of this invention is the provision of an improved inner sole for shoes which is relatively flexible. at the normal ball portion thereof. r

A further object of this invention is the provision of an improved inner sole adapted for high-grade shoes which istransversely grooved or cut at opposite sides thereof, with the cuts disposed in relative intersecting relation so as to give .the ball portion of the inner sole a gridlike appearance when the sole is stretched; thereby giving added flexibility.

A further object of this invention is the provision of an improved shoehaving a high grade flexible inner sole which will permit'the shoe to very easily flex at the ball portion thereof.

A further object of this invention is the pro-' vision of an improved process for the manufacture of shoes wherein an improved inner sole is used having-a ball portion of flexible grid-like appearance. e

Other objects and advantages of, the invention will be apparent during the course of the. follow-- ing detailed description.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this "specification, and wherein similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views- Figure 1 is a bottom plan view of an improved insole showing the intersecting relation of the on opposite sides Figure 4 is a further step in the manufacture A of the shoe, showing the inner sole longitudinally stretched and applied to the bottom of the last.

Figure 5 is a perspective viewof a guard device which is used during the process of manufacturing the shoe to prevent curling or edging over of the inner sole during the lasting of'the showing the guard device of Figure 5 the inner sole.

. Figure 7 is a bottom plan view of the-"last ment of the invention and the preferred steps of manufacturing the shoe, the letter A may generally designate the improved inner sole which is adapted for attachment to a wooden or other type of last B in an improved manner. The upper 0 may be of any approved nature, and as a preliminary .to attachment thereof an improved inner sole guard device D may be used. The improved 'shoe in association with, the above details may include any other conventional parts, such as an outsole- F, etc. v

The inner sole A may beof leather or any other material. The process is'especially adapted for the manufacture of high grade shoes, and in practically every instance the inner sole A will be of leather. Due to the transverse slitting thereof the inner sole may be stretched so that variations in last size may be compensated for during the stretching of the inner sole on the last. As the principal improved feature of the present invention the inner sole A on the bottom thereof is provided with a plurality of transverse cuts, slits, grooves, or incisions 20, which preferably are cut more than half-way thru the thickness of the inner sole, at the ball portion thereof,

- and in the zone or area which takes the major flexing. Theopposite side of the inner sole is likewise'provid'ed with a plurality of cuts, slits,

grooves, or incisions 2| which,'however, are disposed in intersecting acute angled relation with respect to the cuts 20. The cuts 2| are .also cut more than half-way through the thickness of the inner sole at the ball portion thereof and due to the acute angled intersection of the cuts-2B and 2| the inner sole at the ball portion will present a grid-like effect when the inner sole is stretched,

as shown during the lasting step in Figure 4. a

It is preferred to dispose the cuts 20 and 2| in oblique relation to the longitudinal axis of the in a further step in the manufacture of the shoe showing the attachment of the upper in a preliininary step to the inner soleand last. I a Figure 8 is'a cross sectional view taken substantially on the line 8-8 of'Figure f7.

sole, but it ispossible to transversely dispose the cuts on one side of the inner sole normal tothe longitudinal axis of the inner sole and 'o'bliquely' dispose the cuts -on the other side. -$ince the cuts on one side of the inner sole intersect the cuts on the opposite side of the inner sole, the

grid portion will have perforations or-openings when the sole is stretched.

The inner sole A is attached to the last B at the fore part of the latter by some securing means, such as tacks 23. Due to the improved grid slashing of the ball portion of the inner sole it is possible to conform the inner sole exactly to the length of the last. As is well known to those skilled in the art lasts vary in size as much as quarter size, as an incident of variation in temperature and humidity, requiring insoles to be trimmed. With the present insole that is obviated inasmuch as after tacking the insole A-to the last B at the fore portion of the last the insole can be stretched from the position shown in Figure 3 to the position shown in Figure 4 and tacked at 24 and 25. If desired the grid portion of the insole may also be secured to the last by tacks 21. It is to be particularly noted that cuts on the ball portion of the insole are open so as to present a grid-like effect after application of the insole to the last. This gives greater flexibility because there will be no restriction upon expansion or compression'of the leather due to bending of the sole. The sole perforations give better air venting in the sole.

In the next step of manufacturing the shoe, the cement is applied to the outer edge or margin of the insole, as is usual, and cement is also applied to the upper. Prior to adherence of the edge of the upper to the insole the guard piece D is secured to the insole, in theposition shown in Figure 6, so as to guard the edge of the insole at the slitted portion against curling or edging over during the lasting of the upper to the insole. This guard piece D is of comb-like appearance and preferably of extremely thin strong It includes a body portion 30 steel material. having parallel teeth 3| extending therefrom and spaced apart for distances which will permit of the upper to be cemented to the edge of the insole at the interstices. The teeth 3| are of varying length so that their outer edges present a curve to conform to the curved edge of the insole, as shown in Figure 6. The guard device D may be apertured at 32 so that it may be tacked in position. If desired it may be manually held or otherwise secured in position, andit may be dipped in some material, such as paraflin to prevent of the adherence of the cement thereto. It flexes only under force.

In the next step, shown in Figure 7, the upper C is attached by tacks or other means 35 at the heel portion; by staples or other means 36 at the shank, and then by cement to the edge of the in ner sole at the location of the guard member D. The upper is also tacked at 38 to the fore portion of the inner sole and the last. During this cementing operation the upper is pounded by a rubber hammer onto the insole at the location of the guard D. The comb or guard device D is then withdrawn and the edge of the upper additionally pounded onto the insole. The rest of the edge of the upper is cemented to the insole in the conventional manner, and if desired the guard member D may be used at both sides of,

the insole to guard the slitted flexible portion of the insole from curling or edging over during the lasting 01' the upper.

The shoe is then completed in conventional manner; an outsole F being cemented or otherwise secured to the upper and insole, and if desired filling material 50 or the like may be disposed between the insole and outsole at the location between the edges where the upper is lasted over the insole, as shown in Figure 10.

I am well aware that it has heretofore been proposed to slash inner soles for the purpose of rendering them more flexible. In fact, it has been proposed to slash both sides of the sole but such slashing is confined to a staggering of the slashes in parallelism on both sides. This arrangement has the disadvantage that in practice it is impossible to carry out the idea without destruction of a large proportion of the inner soles due to the difliculty of staggering the slashes on opposite sides in parallelism. Such slashes must be placed close together and inasmuch as the depthof the cut must extend thru more than one-half the thickness of the sole it very often results that the inner sole is either damaged or due to variation in thickness of the inner sole it'is impossible to cut through more than one-half of the thickness, or the out is extended through the entire thickness. Such prior suggestion does not provide an insole which has a grid-like efiect. With my improved sole the grid efiect permits of accurate cutting; eflicient stretching, and proper air venting. Also, since each grid block of the improved inner sole has the same thickness as the other parts of the sole it is stronger at the flexible portion than a sole having slashes at opposite sides of the sole which are in parallelism.

Various changes in the arrangement of parts of the shoe and departure from the steps of manufacturing the shoe may be made to the in vention without departing from the spirit thereof or the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. The steps in the process of manufacturing shoes which consists in providing a flexible insole having a ball portion thereof slit on opposite sides, securing the insole at the toe thereof to the last, longitudinally stretching the insole on the last and securing'it in such stretched relation to the last, securing an upper to the edges of the insole, securing an outsole on the shoe, and removing the last from the shoe.

2. The steps in the process of manufacturing a shoe which consists in providing an insole having the ball portion thereof slashed on opposite sides with the slashes disposed in intersecting relation to provide a ball portion having a gridlike effect,securing the toe portion of the insole to the last, longitudinally stretching the insole and securing it to the last at a location rearwardly of the slashes in the insole to stretch the insole at the slashed portion into opened gridlike effect, securingan upper to the insole, Securing an outer sole to the upper and insole and removing the last. '3. As an article of manufacture a shoe having an upper, an insole to which the upper is secured, said insole. at the ball portion thereof being slashed on both sides thereof, with the slashes on one side disposed in intersecting relation vwith the slashes on the other side and actually intersecting them to provide openings through the insole where said slashes on the opposite sides of the insole intersect, said insole bein longitudinally stretched in position to open the insole where said slashes intersect, and an outsole on the upper and insole.

4. A process of shoemaking which comprises providing an insole having a forepart slashed through and through from edge to edge, stretching said insole on the bottom of a last to open the slashes caused by slashing, securing the insole thus tensioned to the last, and lasting an upper to said insole while the insole is under tension on the last.

5. A process of shoemaking which comprises providing an insole having a portion slashed through and through with interrupted cuts from sioned insole.

6. In combination with a shoe, an expanded innersole under tension forming a part thereof and having a-plurality of rows of short through 10 the shoe in expanded position, whereby the and through opened slashes extending from edge to edge, whereby the area of the innersole is increased and its flexibility improved.

'7. In combination with a shoe, an expanded innersole under tension forming a part thereof Q and having a plurality of rows of short through and through opened slashes extending trom edge to edge throughout its ball portion, whereby the area of the innersole is increased and its flexibility in the ball portion improved.

8. In combination with a shoe, an innersole forming a part thereof and having a plurality of rows of short through and through slashes extending from edge to edge and maintained in slashes are opened and the area of the innersole is increased and its flexibility improved,

WILLIAM M. SCI-ILEAR. 

